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Friday, February 29, 2008

Daring Bakers February: To read or to bake?

That's the question ...My guess is that our lovely, lively, witty and knowledgeable bread baking hostesses this month; Sara of I Like to Cook and Mary of The Sour Dough must have had loads of fun in posing the challenge (to keep with bread terms: separating the chaff from the wheat girls?). They composed a work of prose which read as a short novel, foreseeing and answering (!) each and every hitch that could be encountered during the Baking of the Challenge. Truth or Dare my dear fellow Daring Bakers and look what glorious breads came from that!

First they chose an unquestionable source: Mrs Julia Child, (for my European readers: Julia who? Have to confess here, before I was swept up in baking sessions across the ocean I never heard of her before, and even now, now I know how much she is revered on the other side of the big pond I still can't help smile by seeing her -or hearing her voice- but she really seems to be a kind of icon for baking).Our hostesses then picked a product that almost everyone loves; french bread, and made themselves available for any questions asked and even offered an online bake-a-thon to help out live when needed. Dedication people, sheer dedication!! For sure, I too, was a bit apprehensive when I saw the length of the recipe. Breaking it down in manageable bites; it turned out to be a straight forward dough with three lengthy rises. As much as I love to work with a preferment -either biga or poolish- in this case that was a definite no-no; not allowed! I pouted a little, went ahead with it anyway and discovered that the three rises made up for that big time. Another frown was reserved for the amount of salt, I'd like to stick with the 2% rule (amount of salt being 2% of the amount of flour). Hmmm. Did as I was told, no complaints here, although I'd like to bake again trying 1.1/2 tsp salt. I loved the 72% liquid in this one!! Watch Julia Child and Danielle Forestier in action (uh.. it's Danielle in action really) showing you how to make this exact recipe. As I said the recipe itself is not very lengthy, for the complete instructions and recipe visit The Sourdough. If you like a reminder how to handle the dough it's shown in pics here.

Stir yeast in 75 gr water, and let liquefy completely. Add the mixture to the rest of the ingredients in your mixing bowl. Using the dough hook of your stand mixer start mixing on a low speed for about 6 minutes.Empty bowl on a bare counter top and proceed kneading by using the method as shown in the videos or my pics. You'll see that after a while (might take anywhere from 5-10 minutes) your dough changes, as the air gets trapped, the dough gets more body, is easier to work with.You know when you're done if the dough is springy, elastic and feels somehow light to the touch. (It will still be sticky) Try pressing a finger in the dough, it should leave a dent which will slowly fill again.First proofing: 3-4 hours in a lightly greased straight sided bowl, covered with plastic bag or shower cap. It will at least triple and show large bubbles and even some huge blisters on top!Deflate by turning out on a lightly floured surface, pressing all gas out of the dough. Fold like you would fold a letter and again let it rise.

Second proofing: in same bucket, somewhere around 2 hours, again till it's full of air and the top shows a dome shape. Maybe it won't quite triple but it sure will double!

Shaping: Cut dough with a bench scraper to desired pieces, and form the pieces of dough into whatever shape you prefer. For information on how to shape please check the instructions at Mary's / Sara's.Third and final rise: 1.1/2 to 2 hours. Shaped loaves rest covered on baking sheet or couche.

Baking: about 25 minutes; oven preheated to 230 C, slice the loaves prior to baking, moisten the surface by brushing cold water on or spray. To simulate steam in the oven you can throw some ice cubes on the bottom of your oven. I like to place a baking sheet on the bottom of the oven during preheating and fill that with boiling water just after I put the loaves in.

Verdict: Rave reviews! Very happy kids, a doting Husband and a cheery sneaky Baking who tried snatching an entire loaf for herself.... Thanks so much gals, I loved loved doing this!

LOVE the write up! Definitely gassy bread -- yours is gorgeous. I thought about putting a pan of water in the oven, but did the spray instead. Never thought of ice cubes in the bottom. How cool is that? Literally!

I'm one bottle of wine into my weekend here in the snowy woods of Upstate NY but let me tell you something, even logging on at dial up speeds was worth seeing your absolutely spot on bread! Thanks for your help ever so much on verifying the measurements